One of Douglas County’s most distinguished institutions will celebrate its 150th birthday on Tuesday.

In 1858, when the Kansas governor signed the charter for Baker University in Baldwin City, he established the first university in Kansas. The university was founded by Methodist ministers and still is a private university affiliated with the United Methodist Church.

It also is an outstanding institution that provides a great complement to Kansas University. Baker now enrolls about 4,000 students in Kansas and Missouri both on its Baldwin City campus and through popular degree programs in other locations.

Over the years Baker has contributed much to the history and tradition of Douglas County. Its attractive campus features a number of historical structures including the Osborne Chapel, which was disassembled in Sproxton, England, shipped in pieces and rebuilt on the Baker campus, where it was rededicated in 1996. Baker’s library also houses the historical Quayle Bible Collection.

Baker has been ranked among the 100 best private school in the nation by Money Magazine and recognized in Barron’s Best Buys in College Education. The school has a reputation for excellent educational programs and regularly attracts top-notch speakers and artists to its campus.

It’s a little amazing to think that three years before Kansas became a state and eight years before the founding of KU, a group of area leaders placed so much value on higher education that they gathered the resources and expertise to establish Baker as the state’s first university. In the last 150 years, Baker University, its students and its faculty have given its founders many reasons to be proud.

Congratulations and Happy Birthday!